Spring Sing 2015: Signature A Cappella
Signature A Cappella will perform a medley of songs by the Beatles at Spring Sing on Saturday. The group kept in mind the songs’ positive energies when preparing for its performance. (Hannah Ye/Daily Bruin)
By Max Mcgee
May 14, 2015 12:29 a.m.
A pleasant range of voices fills the depths of Parking Structure 7 as Signature A Cappella prepares its four-minute Spring Sing set.
The group of female vocalists will perform an original rendition of songs by the Beatles at Spring Sing. Fourth-year psychology student and Signature director Mishael Edu said the group will have choreography and classic Beatles costumes for the performance.
At the start of the academic year, Edu said one of Signature’s major goals was to perform at Spring Sing. The group brainstormed ideas during fall quarter and arranged its set during winter break.
“Choosing a song for Spring Sing is always a huge debate just because we want something that will reach all audiences,” third-year economics student and Signature member Kelly Noe said. “Ultimately we decided to take iconic Beatles songs and turn them into something fresh and new, putting our own spin on it.”
In preparing the songs, Edu said the group kept in mind the positive and feel-good energies and feelings the group associates with Beatles’ songs.
“We kept our audience in mind when we selected the songs because we wanted to reach out to all ages, and we knew that everyone could enjoy these songs,” Edu said.
Hannah Bannan, a third-year philosophy student and member of Signature, said taking songs that sound completely different and finding a way to bridge them together is one of the hardest parts about creating their Spring Sing set.
“It’s about taking what we think is the most important part of a song that we’re singing and then creating a way to transition between them,” Bannan said.
Edu said preparing for the Spring Sing show is nerve-wracking yet exciting at the same time.
“We support each other by reminding each other that we are working really hard for this performance and that it is a rare Bruin experience,” Edu said.
One of the things that Noe said the group emphasizes is taking a second during the performance to be present in the moment, making eye contact with each other and appreciating the opportunity to be on stage together.
“We feed off of each other’s energy and when the crowd gets excited we get even more amped up,” Edu said. “Sometimes we even have ballads or slow songs that may have a little bit lower energy, but come with strong feelings and meaning.”
Noe said this year has been special because the group has more first-year members than in past years and older members who will be performing at Spring Sing for the first time.
“The (first-year members) are doing a great job and it’s a cool group in the sense that it is not really based off seniority,” Bannan said. “Whatever age you are, it does not matter as we are all in this together.”
